Darkness of the Light, Light of the Darkness
by Elendil Star-Lover
Summary: Told around Jeran, the prince of Meridell, and Selena of the Moon, princess of Darigan, before, during, and after the War. Contains a twist involving some of Neopia's most unsavory characters.
1. Selena, Daughter of Darigan, and the Orb

Light and Darkness  
By  
Elendil Star-Lover  
  
Selena had eyes of vivid blue and fur of deepest black. Her feathers looked like strings of turquoise threaded together in her wings and around her neck. Darker blue stood out vividly against the light on her wings, the tuft of her tail, her underbelly, and the inside of her wings. The dark shade was around her eyes and the strip of bare skin over her black beak.  
  
She was the princess of Darigan, future mistress of the beautiful flying citadel that her people admired so much. She was the daughter of the great Lord Darigan, a wise, caring, and beloved ruler whom his people would die for readily.  
  
Lady Selena Darigan, out of Nanya of the Sky by Darrnan of the Flame.  
  
Nanya Darigan had died when Selena was young, leaving her father, Darrnan Darigan, to care for the Eyrie child. Father and daughter lived peacefully and happily in the citadel, served generously by happy, loving guards who were thrilled to live in such a place.  
  
Darigan was the synonym of peace and prosperity. No one knew war, famine, disease, or disaster. God had blessed the land, giving them a magic orb that filled the soil with life, the air with perfume, and their bodies with strength.  
  
Selena of the Moon watched this orb as she rolled onto her black and blue back, playing childishly with butterflies as they passed over her beak. The grass beneath her dark body was soft and gentle and a pleasant breeze, not too cold, nor too warm, kissed her cheek. The butterflies were like tiny, floating flowers, and the real flowers were like practical jewels, warm, not cold, and soft, not hard.  
  
The roses were rubies.  
  
The stems were emeralds.  
  
The bluebells were turquoises.  
  
And the dandelions were chips of diamonds.  
  
Selena giggled. It was a glorious day to be young. The sun was bright and the clouds looked like the pillows in the young Lady Darigan's room. Of course, it was a glorious day to be young any day in Darigan.  
  
They kept the orb in an outer courtyard, fearing no thief, for who would want it? why try to reach a citadel that floats miles above land to steal an orb that you couldn't sell because everyone would recognize it? Wouldn't it be simpler to just MOVE to Darigan? Never mind housing or food, God would provide.  
  
Darigan was that beautiful, that trusting. It was that much of a wonderful place to live, and nothing would ever spoil it. Darigan was beautiful and always would be.  
  
A butterfly crossed Selena's face and she pawed at it gently, just trying to stroke its wings, never trying to hurt it. Darigans were known for their tranquility, as the Sand People knew, favoring flight over fight, if they had wings, of course!  
  
Suddenly, Selena sat up. Her sharp Eyrie ears had detected the sound of a hostile Wandering Ghost, ready to attack her! The young princess rolled over onto her four legs and flapped her great wings once, lifting her high into the air, where she dashed to a column at the wall and hung there, just out of sight.  
  
The ugly orange Ghost walked into the courtyard, sniffing for the fair damsel in distress (who, ironically, was more than strong enough to take on that little germ!) to take back to his kits as a plaything (don't be silly, Ghost don't EAT Eyries, they just force the poor little hatchlings to play dress-up!). Fortunately, our heroine was more than confident with her Rainbow Flash, having practiced it every night for a whole hour!  
  
She snickered beneath her breath and called for her Rainbow, a gift sent to her from her mother, God rest her soul, and spread her wings, planning to dive-bomb the Ghost if he did anything stupid.  
  
And that was a likelihood.  
  
The Ghost reached for the golden orb, resting on its pedestal.  
  
Selena let out a huge battle cry and took flight, passing just over the monster's head...as he reached up an orange-gold claw to grab her. The Ghost clung our heroine to his chest, trying to restrain her beating wings and flashing claws and talons, giggling at first and then growling with annoyance.  
  
"My lady, the celebration is tonight! You need to get bathed and dressed!" screeched Ornan, the Grarrl guard that headed security, as if they needed it. Really, Ornan of the Land was more of a nanny to the girl, and over the years, Selena had gotten a bit...headstrong.  
  
"NONONO!!" the Eyrie screamed, and then tried to bite the old dinosaur's right hand, which was beneath her beak.  
  
A chuckle echoed from behind them, causing both girl and man to quit struggling against each other. Ornan turned around and bowed his head solemnly, swinging Selena around as well. She picked up the struggle again, this time laying waste with her powerful hind legs.  
  
"I am sorry, my lord. She is...uncooperative this afternoon."  
  
The Dark Faerie chuckled to himself, running a hand through his luxurious black hair and just across his pointed ear.  
  
Darigan's mother had been an Eyrie, like Selena, but his father was a Dark Faerie, raised by the Faerie Queen. His appearance, therefore, was that of a Dark Faerie, but his aura was kind and gentle, like his surrogate grandmother.  
  
"I can see that. Do not fret yourself over it, friend. Go and get prepared yourself, I will see to my daughter."  
  
The Grarrl looked down at his princess, who hissed at him darkly. Then he dropped her squarely on the girls' tail, but she didn't mind. She grinned up at her father in instantly began to playfully babble.  
  
"Daddy, there was this huge, ugly orange Ghost! It wanted to take me back to its lair so I could play with its kits!"  
  
She thought for a second and put a black paw to her chin. "Not a bad set up, actually."  
  
Lord Darigan chuckled, swishing his tail. "Is that so? Well come here, we have to get you dressed."  
  
The girl widened her eyes in heart-melting mock innocence and asked, innocently, of course, "But why, Daddy?"  
  
The half-Faerie smiled and took his daughter by her paw and pulled her onto her hind legs (she was only learning to walk two-legged).  
  
"Because this is the anniversary of when God gave us the great gift of the Orb!"  
  
As they walked away, leaving Ornan to shake his head, Selena asked, "...the Orb?"  
  
Again, Lord Darigan chuckled warmly.  
  
"Ages ago, when Neopia was a barren wasteland, a man named Frank Sloth came here from a distant planet, from which he had been banished. He was a 'gen- sist', one who alters the characteristics of living things and bends them to their will."  
  
He picked his daughter up and set her on his shoulders before continuing.  
  
"He was destructive by nature and enjoyed creating monsters to use as minions. He was sitting safely inside his underground lab, which was built because the land he liked for its inhospitality was too dangerous for him to live on. He was reclining in a pivoting chair when he heard the monitor he was using as a footrest go off.  
  
"'Light detected! Light detected!'"  
  
"Sloth spat out the foul liquid he was slurping and ran outside to see what was going on. The thick, noxious clouds that had covered Neopia for so long were breaking, allowing light to pass through, some of which landed at the alien's feet. He backed up so nervously, as his heart had been twisted by greed and hate and he feared and resented anything bright."  
  
"The small monitor in his hands began to vibrate insanely, screaming at its master that a life form was detected. Sloth looked over his shoulder and saw a small, winged animal holding a round, golden orb. The creature picked up its toy and waved at the alien, who stared back, blank and amazed. The creature tossed the ball to Sloth, who held it with utter fascination.  
  
"What was it? Why did the creature have it? What was the creature? Sloth could not begin to guess.  
  
"The creature uttered a small cry like the chirp of a bird and the ball came back into her paws. She pawed it against the ground for a few seconds, and its golden surface never wavered. She picked it up, rearing back on her hind legs, and tossed the ball into the air, waving at it good- bye.  
  
"She looked mournfully at Sloth with a crystal tear in her eye, as if sorrowed by the loss of her toy. She then walked away, winking at Sloth over her winged shoulder as she did so.  
  
"It is said that is when the Orb first appeared in Neopia."  
  
Selena was silent with her head nestled in her father's thick, glossy, black mane. "So what happened to Sloth?"  
  
She yawned lazily, a dreamy look in her fierce blue eyes.  
  
"It is said that as the creature left him, a second one appeared, small with big eyes, feet, and antennae. He looked upon the red creature with a sadistic smile and a single thought coming to his wicked mind, 'I have an idea...'."  
  
"It is also said that our ancestor, a blue Eyrie called 'Darrnan'-"  
  
"Like you!"  
  
"Yes, like me, now please be silent. Anyway, he was a refugee from a war- torn land in the Sand Place. He walked for years and never found a place that would take him, but he stopped when he came to the place on which Darigan in built. He fell in love with its lush beauty and decided to found his own city. When he started digging to build his castle---this citadel---in the first scoop of dirt was the Orb."  
  
Selena laughed. "He just FOUND it? No quests or anything?"  
  
Darigan chuckled, "That was pretty much it. No quests or anything. He just FOUND it."  
  
Selena giggled, "That's SO boring!"  
  
Lord Darigan nodded, "Yes, but that is what history tells us."  
  
He started to pull his daughter of his shoulder and set her on her bed, but she stopped him.  
  
"Well, when I grow up and get full Dark Faerie magic powers, I'm going to go on a quest to save Neopia!"  
  
Darigan beamed at his brave daughter, jerked her off his shoulder, pinned her onto the bed and started tickling her with all his might.  
  
"And maybe you will!"  
  
"Now let me tell YOU a story!"  
  
Darigan smiled, showing his fangs as he stretched out on the bed beside his daughter.  
  
"What kind of story?"  
  
"Well...it starts hundreds of years in the future when two kids---an Aisha and a Lupe---are playing tag..."  
  
Unbeknownst to them, a winged beauty was perched in the stone supports on the ceiling, glowering at the half-breed and the rancidblood (think "mudblood", except that's taken and not evil enough) who dared to claim their noble ancestry! Bah! Fools and weaklings, the both of them!  
  
She glared at them with red and green eyes. Her lady would hear of this, and what her dearly departed brother had fraternized with before she killed him.  
  
:30~ Spirited girl, isn't she? Hmm...what happened to Jeran, I wonder? Fight out later! 


	2. Vira and Jeran

Right now it's cute and kinda perky, but as it goes on it'll change. And the new plot has given me a few good ideas. It's too bad I can't see Selena belly dancing as easily as my other OCs...  
  
Chapter two  
  
The Acara bent low in front of her mistress.  
  
"They were insulting you, Mistress, claiming to be of your noble race."  
  
The Dark Faerie strode to the other side of the purple-cloud room, laying a hand on a globe and spinning it thoughtfully. The stupid demon cat took offense to her son's noble birth, and his daughter's thereafter, but Juhdora did not. In fact, Juhdora saw it as an advantage in taking over Neopia in the past.  
  
Now she had a better idea.  
  
"Go to Meridell, my lovely servant. Tell King Skarl of this...Orb of Darigan's!"  
  
"Yes, my lady."  
  
And with that, she was off, beating her wings as all of Darigan, and Lord Darigan and his daughter Selena, with it, began to party.  
  
That night was the Celebration of the Orb and Selena looked lovely in her blue robe, dazzling the adults and the girls, revolting the boys. She was a little revolted herself. Who would want to wear a dress, anyway?  
  
She paced back and forth across the smoky fairground, listening to the sounds of drunken laughter from the grown-ups and innocent laughter from the children. She searched through the crowd and found a knot of kids about her age who looked like they might want to talk.  
  
She bent low into the ground, dragging her dress through the wet, dewy grass...careful on the approach...  
  
"Hi!" Selena said, smiling brightly at the Aisha, Zafara, and Lupe. "I'm Selena. Who are you?"  
  
The Aisha smiled, "Your Lady Darigan, right? I'm Ana, this is Nemen and Remus."  
  
She pointed at the Zafara first, Lupe second. Selena couldn't imagine how a red Zafara got a name like "Nemen".  
  
Selena giggled on the thought of someone naming that jackrabbit after the great lion that roared inside the stars. She blushed when she realized the other girls and the male Lupe were staring at her.  
  
"So who's that?" Selena asked, pointing across the field at a strange looking white Acara with black wings.  
  
"She calls herself 'Vira'," the Aisha explaned. "From a far-off kingdom, she says."  
  
Selena cocked her head, "You mean you don't know?"  
  
The Aisha shook her head. "No. Never seen her before."  
  
Meanwhile, years in the future, a brother and sister---descendents of Reumus and Ana to be exact---were playing a game of tag. The Aisha girl--- Lisha---was it. They were playing near the ruins of an ancient city that had been destroyed so many years ago.  
  
The Lupe, called Jeran, snickered as he snuck away from his sister. Lisha would never find him in that hole in the tree! Giggling and laughing his blue little heart's content, he jumped inside the hole and waited.  
  
And waited.  
  
And waited.  
  
When Lisha didn't return, Jeran stepped out of the hole and into a castle straight out of his dreams. It had white marble floors and tapestries hanging everywhere, even though he only seemed to be in an attic.  
  
When Jeran walked to the window in a daze, he saw what looked like medieval Neopia stretching out beneath him. Gone were the giant cities with tall spires spitting smoke into the sky. Gone were the busy streets bustling with cars. They had vanished to be replaced by farmland and wild forests as far as the eye could see.  
  
Jeran stumbled backward, a hazy fog creeping into his mind. He was so startled by what he saw that his mind had begun to shut down, to block him from it. When the Draik guards found him, Jeran was in a fetal position, staring at everything.  
  
And nothing.  
  
His eyes had gone blank, he had gone very quiet. If he hadn't been breathing they might have thought he was dead, so they took pity on the Lupe puppy and took him to the king, a Skeith named "Skarl".  
  
While this was going on, Selena seemed to have made a new friend in Vira. The white Acara claimed to be related to the Dark Faeries, much like Selena, and so the two hit it off quickly. Selena didn't even think twice in Vira began to inquire of the Orb.  
  
"I would like to see it, just once," Vira moaned hopefully. "Something that brings so much peace and prosperity--! You must feel very special to be its future guardian, my lady Selena of the Moon!"  
  
Selena giggled. "I am hardly its future guardian. The Orb needs no protection. Who would steal it way up high in that citadel when they could simply MOVE to Darigan?"  
  
Vira chuckled, "Who indeed?"  
  
The white cat seemed to think for a moment and then something optimistic filled her eyes, but not before something dark flashed.  
  
Selena brushed whatever it was aside very nervously.  
  
"So you're saying the Orb is unprotected? Can I see where it is?"  
  
Yes, it must have been nothing. Just Selena's overactive imagination playing tricks on her, as Ornan always said when she insisted some bat- thingy was peeking its lamplike yellow eyes from her closet to watch her sleep inside her nest.  
  
.Selena liked Bat-Thingy, though. It reminded her of Daddy.  
  
"Sure, I can take you," Selena smiled. Whatever she saw, or thought she saw, most certainly hadn't been there.  
  
When the two young girls reached the citadel, Vira most definitely in awe.  
  
"Lovely," she breathed. "Very lovely!"  
  
"Isn't it, though?" Selena beamed, rising onto her hind legs. "Daddy told me the story about where we think it came from, want me to tell you?"  
  
Vira was starting to tire of this stupid Eyrie-child.  
  
"No, Lady Selena. I must be going. Thank you for showing me the Orb, little girl."  
  
As Vira left, Selena rubbed the back of her neck with her paw. Vira couldn't have been any older than she! Little girl? What did she mean by that?  
  
The next day, Jeran awakened in front of a massive, fat person, knowing only his name and that he had known an Aisha named "Lisha", and that no force on Neopia could make him forget that name.  
  
His small body trembled and shook like a leaf. The poor puppy was scared to death. He wasn't quite sure who he was, but he knew his name and the name of another. He wasn't quite sure where he was, but had a vague recollection of how he had gotten there. He knew that this place wasn't quite like home, but he wasn't quite sure where home was or how it was different.  
  
All in all, Jeran was just incredibly confused.  
  
The fat king laughed as he saw Jeran.  
  
"He somehow managed to sneak into my castle? How?" he demanded, chuckling.  
  
"Don't know sir, and from the looks of him, he don't rightly remember either, sire," answered the Draik guard.  
  
This guard was a country boy of poor upbringing who knew little of court affairs. It showed in what he said next.  
  
"If I may, sir, since you have no children of yer own and he's a fine, strong lad, taking him in?"  
  
King Skarl blinked. He had never found a wife and if he went on womanless, he would die heirless. And the boy was smart, strong, and clever to make his way into the castle all alone. In fact, why not? If he didn't have a home, that is...  
  
"Tell me your name, boy," King Skarl commanded.  
  
"It's Jeran, sir."  
  
The Lupe puppy's lower lip trembled. He was so scared. He had no home to go home to, and didn't know what being taken in by a king would mean. He was old enough to guess, but to young to know for sure.  
  
"And where is your home?"  
  
Jeran clutched his knees, almost drawing blood from the soft, fur-lined flesh. His face contorted in agony and a crystal tear leaked from his cheek.  
  
"I don't know, sir."  
  
King Skarl guffawed again. "It's settled then! The boy stays with us!"  
  
Jeran shivered and trembled inside his blankets. The bed was far too big, the marble tiles were too cold, and this Lisha wasn't there for him to say good night to. The guards paced all night, but no one spoke to him. Already they began treating him like royalty, standing when he walked into a room and bowing when he left, and it hadn't even been a full day yet!  
  
His tiny heat pounded in his tiny chest. He cried into his pillow but no one heard, or if they did they didn't come. loneliness flooded his heart.  
  
There might have been one person he could talk to, the king. The king had already decided that he was going to be Jeran's father, so perhaps he would comfort the boy if he asked.  
  
Jeran shivered when his small paws hit the tiles, even as he walked. He paced his way down the long halls until he heard the king talking and the Lupe near the doorway, observing, but making sure to be unnoticed.  
  
"Yes...yes...I am terrific, aren't I? And I deserve so much more! Why have a kingdom that fades in winter when it could be spring year round!"  
  
The king seemed to be talking to someone, except Jeran couldn't see who. The big blue Skeith DID seem to be looking into a mirror, and that was all.  
  
As Jeran left his new "father's" doorway, he didn't say anything since he was so new to the castle. 


End file.
